BURR RIDGE, Ill. – An octogenarian’s collection of rare baseball cards, including a mint-condition Mickey Mantle rookie card, fetched $1.6 million in a three-week auction that ended this weekend, auction officials said.

Lionel Carter, 89, of Evanston, began his collection as a 15-year-old when he eschewed a nickel candy bar for a pack of 1932 Delong cards. His stash of pristine cards ballooned to 50,000 strong with an estimated value of $3 million and became one of the nation’s most renowned collections.

“We don’t say this lightly – he’s considered one of the pioneers of the hobby,” said Doug Allen, president of suburban Chicago’s Mastro Auctions, which sold the collection in an auction that ended Saturday.

Carter’s Mantle card sold for $165,000, three times more than similar cards have commanded. A set of 1938 Heads Up Goudy cards sold for $280,000, five times more than similar sets.

“I think people are paying more because it was owned by Lionel Carter,” Allen said.

The remainder of Carter’s collection will be sold at auctions during the year, officials said.

Carter opted to sell his collection out of concern for his safety. Thieves broke into his house just north of Chicago last October and stole cards, although most were safely recovered by police.

“It was very sad,” he said. “I didn’t want to see them go. To me, it was part of my life. A big part of my life.”